Curtis SmallingCurtis Smalling has a BSc in biology and an MA in Appalachian studies. He is a lifelong birder who works as mountain area biologist for Audubon North Carolina. Curtis is the founder of the Mountain Avian Research Initiative and Ecos of the Blue Ridge, an eco-tourism company leading walks and school field trips. He resides in Boone, North Carolina, with his wife of 23 years, Mary, and their three children.

Gregory KennedyGREGORY KENNEDY has been an active naturalist since he was very young. He is the author of many books on natural history, and has also produced film and television shows on environmental issues and indigenous concerns in Southeast Asia, New Guinea, South and Central America, the High Arctic and elsewhere.